Background

Maurice de Vlaminck was born on April 4, 1876, in Paris, France. His father Edmond Julien was Flemish and taught him to play the violin and his mother Joséphine Caroline Grillet came from Lorraine and taught piano. Both his parents were musicians.

Education

Maurice de Vlaminck began painting in his late teens. In 1893. He learned to draw from J. L. Robichon, studied with a painter named Henri Rigalon on the Île de Chatou.

Career

Vlaminck's early paintings were exuberant expressions of his energetic nature. Their spontaneity and energy attracted the Postimpressionist painter André Derain in 1899, and the two artists worked together for a time, styling themselves the "School of Chatou. "

When Vlaminck completed his army service in 1900, the two rented a studio together, the Maison Levanneur which now houses the Cneai, for a year before Derain left to do his own military service. In 1902 and 1903 he wrote several mildly pornographic novels illustrated by Derain. He painted during the day and earned his livelihood by giving violin lessons and performing with musical bands at night. Vlaminck's earlier work showed his interest in various styles of painting, and at various times he came under the influence of stylized Impressionism, Neoimpressionism, and Fauvism.

Shortly afterward Vlaminck met Claude Monet and Henri Matisse. In 1905 Vlaminck, encouraged by Matisse, exhibited at the Salon des Indépendants, at the Berthe Weill gallery, and in the famous "Fauvist zoo" at the Salon d'Automne.

In 1907 he studied Paul Cézanne's work, and between 1907 and 1909, realizing his need of discipline, he worked out his own style.

Typical canvases of his Fauve period are the Gardens of Chatou (1904), Picnic in the Country (1905), and Circus (1906).

In 1908 Vlaminck's style changed, and under the influence of Paul Cézanne's work he aimed at well-constructed compositions.

This is exemplified in Barges (1908 - 1910) and The Flood, Ivry (1910).

About 1915 Vlaminck entered his expressionist phase, characterized by earthy colors and simplified forms.

He painted landscapes, portraits, and still lifes with impetuous brushwork.

In 1911, Vlaminck traveled to London and painted by the Thames. In 1913, he painted again with Derain in Marseille and Martigues. In World War I he was stationed in Paris, and began writing poetry. Eventually he settled in Rueil-la-Gadelière, a small village south-west of Paris. A few of his works show some interest in Cubism.

After about 1920 Vlaminck made the three-dimensional aspect of his forms less emphatic and stressed the dramatic contrast of light and shade.

From 1925 he traveled throughout France, but continued to paint primarily along the Seine, near Paris. Resentful that Fauvism had been overtaken by Cubism as an art movement Vlaminck blamed Picasso "for dragging French painting into a wretched dead end and state of confusion". During the Second World War Vlaminck visited Germany and on his return published a tirade against Picasso and Cubism in the periodical Comoedia in June 1942. A gifted story teller, Vlaminck wrote many autobiographies, which were somewhat marred either by vagueness or lack of absolute truthfulness.

The landscapes, such as Hamlet in the Snow (1943), have a heavily textured brushstroke and are charged with emotion.

Achievements

• Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse Maurice de Vlaminck is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were united in their use of intense colour. Vlaminck was one of the Fauves at the controversial Salon d'Automne exhibition of 1905.

Works

More photos

• book

  • Maurice Vlaminck-Boissy-les-Perches-1951 Etching

    (Etching by Maurice Vlaminck entitled "Boissy-les-Perches"...)

  • Vlaminck, master of graphic art: A retrospective exhibition of graphic works, 1905-1926

    (Softcover exhibition catalogue 7 1/4" X 9 3/4" 46 pages. ...)

  • Maurice de Vlaminck lithograph "Allainville under Snow"

    (Medium: lithograph. This lithograph (after the Vlaminck p...)

  • Maurice de Vlaminck "Church at Saint-Lubin-de-Cravant" lithograph

    (Medium: lithograph. This lithograph (after the Vlaminck p...)

  • Maurice de Vlaminck "The House on the Plain" lithograph

    (Medium: lithograph. This lithograph (after the Vlaminck p...)

  • Dangerous Corner

Personality

Maurice de Vlaminck was a person of great vitality, self-willed, radical, and independent.

Connections

In 1894 Maurice de Vlaminck married and started a large family.

Father:

Edmond Julien

Mother:

Joséphine Caroline Grillet

Wife:

Suzanne Berly

Wife:

Berthe Combes

They had two daughters.

References

• Amazing Arts # 23: Maurice de Vlaminck # 2 (Volume 23)
• Maurice de Vlaminck (Masters of World Painting)
• Amazing Arts # 22: Maurice de Vlaminck (Volume 22)
• Amazing Arts # 24: Maurice de Vlaminck # 3 (Volume 24)
• Maurice De Vlaminck Les Annees Decisives